TGIF: Song to Book Adaptation
And now it is Friday! A glorious day! The day that ends this crazy week in which many THINGS occurred, but which are going to stay vague for awhile. (Sorry.)
It is also the day that Cabin in the Woods comes out. This is very exciting for me since I basically worship at the throne of Joss Whedon. (He would probably find that creepy. But. Whatever.)
However, Ginger at GReads! has a fun little question this week:
Musical Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form?
Boy howdy, did this sucker throw me for a loop. I feel like songwriting and fiction writing are very similar and very, very different. Telling a story via song is obviously shorter and, you know, rhymier. But songs can be very evocative and very moving and wholly engrossing by themselves.
Anyway, my immediately gut reaction was to pick a Bob Dylan or Josh Ritter song. But then I realized that those songs are so gorgeous and perfect as they are, that an extended version of it would probably take away the simplicity that makes me love those songs so much.
So that left me with other options. I flirted with The Ballad of Love and Hate and Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers, Heavy in Your Arms by Florence + the Machine, Tuesday Morning by Michelle Branch, and Dust Bowl Dance by Mumford & Sons, but decided those fall into the All Things Perfect By Themselves Category. (Although. Something “inspired by” any of those songs would be ACE.)
So finally I settled on . . .
Die Alone by Ingrid Michaelson is one of my faves. It’s haunting and sparse, but, in the end, is all about the moment a girl learns to trust her heart. And while there isn’t anything earth-shattering in that premise, I think that if a book could retain the tone of the song, it would kick a whole lot of ass. And I would absolutely read the hell out of it.
So I hope that everyone had a lovely week that wasn’t too stressful and that you have a fabulous weekend of whatever you need planned.
Reactionary Reading: Hex Hall Books
Hello and welcome to another edition of Reactionary Reading!
But first! AN INTRO.
1) If you don’t follow Rachel Hawkins on Twitter, you are missing out on lots of lols goodness.
2) I really want to hang out with her. And Myra McEntire. Who probably is a little bit afraid of me. (I mean no harm. Promise. I just think you’re the cat’s pajamas.)
3) You should read the Hex Hall books.
Back in January, I read Rachel Hawkins’s Hex Hall. In one sitting. Because it is the awesome.
But before I read her books, I, uh, met her. (Very briefly. There’s zero way she remembers me.) I went to Brooklyn Book Festival back in September and ended up seeing a panel she was on. And I REALLY liked her. She was funny and honest and totally awesome and I was all, I WANT TO HANG OUT WITH HER. Mostly because when someone in the crowd (probably ironically) asked, “Team Edward or Team Jacob?” She immediately said in her lovely Southern drawl, “I’m Team Bella-Goes-to-College.”
I’m pretty sure I fist-pumped.
And, of course, I wanted to read everything she has written immediately.
But! At the time, I was swimming in the land of no monies and thus had to buy her books or, you know, eat. If I were a stronger person, I would have bought the books. Alas, I like the noms. But, I made a mental note to rectify the buying of the Hex Hall books ASAP.
That ended up being in January. And I just bought the one book. And I devoured it and was like I WANT MOAR RIGHT NOW. But alas, I made myself wait. Because I’m a glutton for punishment.
So I finally picked up Demonglass and finally got around to reading it. And. Y’all. Cal. And Sophie. And Jenna. And Archer. And Padre Atherton. And the NEW characters. It is SO GOOD.
But I will shut up now and let you read my reading notes, which are spoiler-redacted. If you want to see the text, just highlight the white space. 🙂
Read more…
Words of Wisdom for Your Wednesday
Tune In Tuesday: Of Monsters and Men
Most of the time, I feel very behind when it comes to discovering new music.
I’ve never been the kind of person who people are all, “Yo, this girl has rockin’ taste in music.”
I mean, I do ok. But I was never a girl who could wear this shirt seriously. (But really, the person who can wear that shirt seriously is probably a person I don’t want to be around.)
So, I find new music mostly based on friend recommendations or by Shazaming stuff I hear on TV.
Yep. I’m a Shazamer.
But this band, Of Monsters and Men, was recommended to me by my dear friend Stephanie, who is all sorts of lovely and fabulous and marvelous. Y’know what? You should follow her on Twitter.
So I gave them a listen. And it turns out that I adore them. (Because Stephanie is never wrong, you see.)
Also, that video was shot in Of Monsters and Men is from Iceland, which is a country that has a very charming Tumblr. And is also a country that, the more I learn about it, the more I want to go to there.
In sum, let’s all go to Iceland! And if you like Of Monsters and Men, *high five*!
Tune in Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads! She’s all kinds of awesome. You should probably follow her on Twitter too.
What’s Making Me Happy {6}
Happy Easter lovelies!
This past has been full of THINGS. Most of them are things that I’m not at liberty to discuss yet, which sucks. But, there have been many, many things going on.
The one thing I can discuss is that both of my roommates told me that they will be moving out when the lease is up in June. So now I have to figure out if I’m going to move out or if I want to stay here and find two new roomies. Preferably with at least one who has a dog.
So. That is happening. Let me know if YOU would like to be one of my new roomies. Because that would be rad.
Anyway, that is only one of the major things that was dumped on my head this week. The others are more work-related and boring. 
HOWEVER. There were some pretty awesome things that crossed my path this week that made me over-the-moon giddy.
1. Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke
Ok, so I’m currently making my way through the Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s probably an understatement to say that I’m obsessed. And I was discussing the books with a friend of mine and I made the statement, “You know what would be awesome? If Dany and Jon Snow ended up together.” And as the words came out of my mouth I realized just how much I meant it. And he was all, “Yeah, I mean. Sure.” And I was all, “YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I MEAN THIS.”
And then a couple days later I found this gorgeous picture (and then gifs) of Kit Harington (Jon Snow on the HBO version of the books) and Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen). And I immediately tried to find out if they are dating and have no conclusive evidence yet, but I hope so.
2. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
I also found out this week that Morgan Spurlock and Joss Whedon got together and made a documentary about San Diego Comic-Con. I know.
3. Of Monsters and Men
My friend Stephanie was all over Twitter this week talking about how much she loves the band Of Monsters and Men. Stephanie generally has fantastic taste, so I checked them out. And y’all. Yes. I’ve been listening to them non-stop since Tuesday.
4. Apartment Therapy’s Small Cool Contest
One of my favorite websites for all things home design-related is Apartment Therapy. And they’ve kicked off a contest called the Small Cool Contest, where people who have teeny tiny apartments and have done a bang-up job of laying out/decorating them can enter and win mucho monies. And I am in love with looking at these strangers places. It makes me want to go find a tiny studio just for the challenge of making it the greatest apartment ever. Alas, I don’t have that kind of money. Yet. But if you’re interested in looking at other people’s things, you should check out the Small Cool Contest.
And those are the things that made me happy this week! I hope you all had wonderful weeks and that you have lots of deviled eggs today! Happy Easter everyone!
Bethany Larson 
